‘Muslim Personal Law Board using sharia to perpetuate patriarchy’

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ All India Muslim Personal Law Board’s decision to boycott the Law Commission’s questionnaire on triple talaq and polygamy drew sharp reactions from Muslim women across the country , with some activists even speaking out against the discriminatory laws in the Shariat.

The Muslim Mahila Foundation president Nazneen Ansari in Lucknow condemned the AIMPLB for twisting Shariat laws to their advantage. “Why should the Shariat be taken into account only when there’s a debate on the freedom of Muslim women?” asked Nazneen. “Why don’t these clerics press for Shariat laws against Muslim men accused of rape and other such crimes?” Nazneen said.

Zakia Soman of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan in Agra called for a nation-wide campaign to ensure women’s participation in filling out the questionnaire. “The Law Commission has given us an opportunity to raise our voices against antiwomen practices. Our organisation will get over 50,000 forms filled by Muslim women. We have asked our units in 15 states to get the forms completed,” Soman said.